The customer is not always right

A short while ago we needed a new dishwasher at home. My daughter in law had done the research for her household and found the make and model she thought was best. She ordered it online. I have lived in the county long enough to know the value of buying local when we can. Sure enough, a local distributor carried her favorite brand. They didn't have it in stock but could order it with a two-week wait for delivery. They took my credit card and placed the order. After six weeks I went from happy to mad. My calls weren't returned and when I did talk to someone they didn't have any information to share. Their best response was "wait and see."

Telling you this, is not to complain about a local business but to illustrate one of my basic beliefs about customer service. Customers aren't always right but it's usually because they haven't been informed well enough. Had someone from the appliance dealer called me and explained the slow delivery, maybe I ordered an unavailable model, maybe there was a dock strike in Singapore, maybe the distributor had a minimum order they could make, I might have been more satisfied. If they had let me know my purchase was important to them my decision to buy local would have been justified. Instead, I did what my family advised in the first place and ordered online.

My suspicion is that the owners /managers of this business had not thought about the messages they gave to their customers through their salespeople. If they spent time listening to both the sales team and the customers, they might have recognized one of the problems they had in competing with Internet sales. Ignored customers get the message that they are excluded from the transaction. A local business can make a sale despite their supposed disadvantages by making a connection with the customer. Responding directly and openly to my requests for a solid delivery date might very well have made the sale. Not only would it have been easier for me but we would have kept some dollars in our local economy.

That leads me to what it takes to be a good boss! Number one for me is to support your team members by letting them know you are interested in their success and well-being. That means listening to them. You might be surprised by what they know about your business that you overlook. Part of my application for new hires has always been a question about what they do for fun. People in their twenties tend to know that there is more to life than work. That question sends the message that I know there is more to life than working for me. It also means I'm willing to listen. During training and at staff meetings I ask, "What would you do?" Although some of the creative answers do fit my solution it's impressive how much customer service folks want to make the business better. That question provides a great platform for trust, understanding and a true dialog. And it means that team members will carry the business along themselves without my attention every minute.

Here's another point: There are times when customers don't treat employees well. I tell new hires that I want a dignified work place for all of them and want them to know that I don't value the customer's purchasing power above the dignity of their work. I let them know that the customer is not always right! That does not mean they can ignore, mistreat or misinform the customers.

My employees are my first line of communication with my customers. Treating them well and giving them respect allows them to pass on that value to the customers. Customers like doing business with people they like, trust and respect. However this can't just be lip service at the first orientation. It takes daily practice. If you are a boss, remember that the way you treat your workers is often reflected in how they treat your customers. That seems to me to be reason enough to be a good boss.

My take away from this dishwasher experience is that if we are going to have a strong local economy, we have to have competitive local businesses. The customer service workers you hire need to be well-trained, well-informed and well-supported. It is as important to your business as product selection or marketing.

Peter Jermyn is an Arcata business owner with decades of experience in hiring and training customer service workers. He believes in the power of our local dollars recirculating.